Hot job may require selling hot goods

WE'VE GOT YOUR BACK

May 21, 2010|By Tim Darragh | Of The Morning Call

The scam: John is between jobs, so he was trolling Craigslist, looking for odd jobs. He answered an advertisement seeking help in selling items on eBay and may have gotten more than he expected. He made a wise decision to stop working with his ''partners.''

How it works: John agreed to help sell items that the wholesaler said he had obtained through Walmart. He insisted on keeping the payment from buyers until the sale was complete and the buyer was satisfied, an essential condition to which the wholesaler agreed. John said he sold items such as a Coleman cooler, received payment and tried to send the payment, minus his 25 percent commission, but couldn't find the wholesaler. John was even more concerned when the wholesaler refused to contact him by phone, as he requested. John has the wholesaler's money in a bank, but won't work anymore with him.

What to do: Good decision. It sounds like John may be dealing with stolen goods. Similar scams have been reported by people who are ''hired'' to handle cash for obscure overseas businesses. They're actually laundering money. If your potential business partner gives you a fishy story or won't allow you to do the slightest background check, stay away from him.

If you want to report a scam, contact gotyourback@mcall.com or call 610-820-6590. We've Got Your Back is on Facebook. Search under ''pages.''